a certain

phrase

1

—used to refer to a quality that is noticed but that is difficult to explain or describe

She has a certain elegance about her.

The house has a certain charm.

2

formal

—used with the name of a person one does not know

In 1889, a certain Mr. Kelly made a large donation to the church.

Examples of a certain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At a certain point, scale stops looking like industrial survival and starts looking like concentrated cultural power. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026

The examples run on and on, and at a certain point the numbers begin blurring together. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026

For a certain type of person, having a terrible time at a party can feel like being pursued by an axe murderer. — Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026

The crawl space had to do certain things, and the actor had to move in a certain way, so it was engineered pretty carefully. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for a certain

• uncertain
• bertin
• curtain